Welcome to the March 2014 edition of Arts Awareness E-Newsletter delivered to your desktop each month. If you know someone who may be interested in receiving this newsletter, please let them know how to sign up through www.artsawareness.com.

Live Your Art

One of the most important aspects of artistic expression is passion. When you consider passion from an artist’s point of view, it’s important to note the profound experience that takes place in the process of creating and performing art. From my own experience, I know that this is not something we just decide to have. It grows out of the creative process; artistic expression is a result of that process.

Artists radiate an energy and enthusiasm that comes from feeling passionate about what they do. Passion is magnetic; audiences and art lovers pick up on this whether they are aware of it or not.

Artists make an effort to allow themselves to be vulnerable and open to the experience of passion. When it appears, they know because it grabs hold of them. It gives them energy and helps them to set their goals at the highest level.

Many of us go through life without really thinking:

What really matters?

Why do I do the things I do?

What is important to me?

Passion gives you the energy to move toward your potential and purpose. Passion makes a life of wholeness possible. Just as in art, the elements don’t compete with one another; they work together to create a whole. You enjoy a self-confidence that isn’t possible otherwise.

Consider your response when you see or hear great works of art. You don’t just decide to experience passion; it comes about through a process of engagement that is not easily explained. In a sense, we don’t take hold of passion; rather it grabs hold of us. It may even catch us by surprise.

Artists think deeply about topics and subject matter outside of the arts when creating. How can you become more engaged in this way?

Artists often combine subjects and disparate elements and create something new. How can you create this synthesis and live your art?

Artists understand the connection of their art making to other people, communities, and the world at large. How can you have this awareness and understand these connections when creating your life as art?

There is no passion to be found playing small –
in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.
~ Nelson Mandela

Works of art are objects and occurrences to be prized and appreciated—each one is special and unique. While they do require skill, they come from invention, understanding, and awareness. There is a creative consciousness that supports their existence. What if you were to apply this same artistic principle to your life? Passion helps you live your art right now rather than chasing a dream that may or may not arrive in the future.

Interesting—Check it out:

In the blog 27 Lessons on How to Life Your Life as Art, Masafumi Masamoto offers lessons to help you celebrate what life has to offer. Although only in his twenties, he shares his vision about living with an attitude that creates a life full of wonderful moments—and amazing art.

The Art of Living with Passion. This article shares how women seem to have a universal longing to live with passion. They want to invest their time and energy in pursuits that are supremely important to them. Using real life stories, the article reflects on the thoughts about where passion comes from and what it looks like in real life.

Live Your Passion. Artist Sandra Magsamen knows firsthand what it takes to “live your art.” She used her passion to create her life's work. Her handmade pottery has become a multimillion-dollar gift business and has expanded to include home décor, jewelry, bedding, greeting cards and more. In this article, she shares insight on how to live your passion.

The Element by Ken Robinson draws on the stories of a wide range of people—including Paul McCartney, Matt Groening, and Richard Branson—to describe the conditions that enabled them to feel most like themselves and most inspired to achieve at their highest levels. He shows that age and occupation are no barrier and presents a strategy about talent, passion, and achievement for transforming experiences in the 21st century.

Our passions are, in truth, like the phoenix.
When the old one burns away, the new one rises out of its ashes at once.
~ Goethe

Contact Dr. Patricia Hoy for media appearances, to book her to speak at your event, or to engage her workshop or consulting services—

Guest Speaking—Corporate, Education, or Arts Events—that provides motivation for launching the beginning a project, keynote theme inspiration, or setting the foundation for a goal to be achieved.

About the Arts Awareness Newsletter:

This newsletter is meant to spark ideas and develop a deeper understanding of artistic processes and their use in leadership, everyday life, and work. Content, which comes from personal experiences and a variety of sources, is based on the Arts Awareness concepts developed by Patricia Hoy. Questions? Comments? Contact Patricia at patricia@artsawareness.com or 901-229-1955, Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA.